Iran accuses US of abusing UN Security Council

US Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a press conference at the United Nations on Tuesday. Photo: Kevin Hagen/Getty Images/AFP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran has accused the US of abuse the UN Security Council, using its presidency of the chamber to advance its own agenda.

“An administration that is renowned for its policy of withdrawal from international institutions and agreements, thus undermining multilateralism and violating the sanctity of international treaties, now ironically lectures other nations on upholding their international obligations,” read a statement from Iran’s mission to the UN, IRNA reported on Thursday.

The US holds the presidency of the Security Council for the month of September. On the agenda is a session on Iran that President Donald Trump will chair.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the September 26 session will address “Iran’s violations of international law and the general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region.”

Iran’s mission hit back, stating: “the US ironically refers to the so-called destabilizing role of Iran in the region, while itself has been a menace to Middle Eastern security with its destabilizing, unilateralist policies and military interventions based on false claims.”

Under Security Council rules, Iran can attend the session to speak on its behalf.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will be in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Trump, on Wednesday, said a meeting between him and Rouhani in New York is possible, but is up to Iran.

“It’s possible, anything is possible,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump’s administration considers Iran a major threat to Middle Eastern stability. He withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal earlier this year and re-imposed a first set of sanctions in August. A second round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry will come into force in November.

Describing Iran as a country in “turmoil,” Trump said it is a very different place now from when he first assumed the presidency.

"When I took office it was just a question of how long until they took over the entire Middle East. Now they are just worrying about their own survival as a country,” he said.